Gross actual product: why GDP fosters increased government spending and should be replaced

Calls for increased government spending or transfer payments under the guise that they will increase economic growth as measured by Gross Domestic Product are tautological at best. If one defines growth as more government spending, then more government spending will by default increase "growth....

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Bibliographic Details
Published inThe Journal of private enterprise Vol. 29; no. 1; p. 53
Main Authors Strow, Brian Kent, Strow, Claudia Wood
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Martin Association of Private Enterprise Education 01.10.2013
Subjects
19th century
African Americans
Design
Economic aspects
Economic growth
Economic indicators
Economists
Expenditures, Public
GDP
Government finance
Government spending
Gross Domestic Product
Happiness
Politicians
Politics
Slavery
Statistics
Studies
Success
United States > US
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Summary:Calls for increased government spending or transfer payments under the guise that they will increase economic growth as measured by Gross Domestic Product are tautological at best. If one defines growth as more government spending, then more government spending will by default increase "growth." By reassessing historical data in light of voluntary transactions, this paper illustrates how the use of Gross Domestic Product has influenced policy makers to engage in policies that have slowed wealth creation. The authors demonstrate how GDP itself has been used as a tool to increase the size and scope of government and propose an alternative measurement to better measure growth.
ISSN:0890-913X